A review by persephonedreaming
My Imaginary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows
4.0
My Imaginary Mary is an enjoyable and witty novel. Ada Lovelace and Mary Shelley might never have met in real life, but in this fantastical alternative history, you will wish they had. Something unique about this novel is the way that embraces the format of the alternative history and marries it with the fantasy aspects of the fae. I found the addition of the fae plot and the way that it added to the humor, social commentary, and historical discussion to make it well worth the momentary jarring while becoming grounded in the story’s universe and provides a lovely backdrop, allowing the reader to be immersed in their knowledge of the modern world, yet allowing Ada’s immense genius and inventing process to have the impressiveness it might have lacked without a firm grounding in the history of computer science.
I wasn’t sure initially how I felt about the asides offered by the narrator explaining history or terminology, but ultimately I think the style works for the story. It pulls the reader out of the story temporarily, but the confusion about the historical terms or events more than make up for the minor distractions. The authors also have a way of addressing the reader in these moments that is endearing and adds to the atmosphere of the story.
This was my first book in this series, and I would definitely recommend this book to any reader who enjoys humorous YA novels, Jane Austen romances, or YA historical romances. This book is delightful and found myself barely able to put it down. I know my library carries some of the Janey books, and I was delighted to discover that we already had the audiobook preordered.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this eArc of My Imaginary Mary. All opinions are my own!
This is a review of the audiobook.
I wasn’t sure initially how I felt about the asides offered by the narrator explaining history or terminology, but ultimately I think the style works for the story. It pulls the reader out of the story temporarily, but the confusion about the historical terms or events more than make up for the minor distractions. The authors also have a way of addressing the reader in these moments that is endearing and adds to the atmosphere of the story.
This was my first book in this series, and I would definitely recommend this book to any reader who enjoys humorous YA novels, Jane Austen romances, or YA historical romances. This book is delightful and found myself barely able to put it down. I know my library carries some of the Janey books, and I was delighted to discover that we already had the audiobook preordered.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this eArc of My Imaginary Mary. All opinions are my own!
This is a review of the audiobook.